The Right Kind of Doctor
by forestwife
Summary: The Doctor makes an involuntary visit to the Torchwood in Cardiff. There he meets someone that he never thought he’d see again in all his lives. But what's Jack's reaction to the new Doctor?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or Torchwood.

A/N: This is set during series 1 of Torchwood (after that one with the people from the 1950's, but before the finale) and sometime after series 2 of Doctor Who, and in this story, Doomsday did happen, as much as we all wish it hadn't…

Enjoy!

The Right Kind of Doctor

Chapter 1

In Cardiff, Owen Harper was walking towards what was, unbeknownst to everyone else, the base of Torchwood.

On his way, he walked past a man who looked so grave and sombre that he said, "Cheer up mate, it might never 'appen."

He hadn't been expecting a response to his comment. But as he walked away, the stranger said, "Or maybe it already has."

If that had been it, then Owen would've carried on walking, he had enough of his own problems without worrying about other peoples. But the dark haired man continued, "You know, sometimes I wonder why I bother saving this planet at all. Every time I fix one thing, some blundering human messes up something else," this stopped Owen in his tracks. This man knew about other planets, and aliens… and he was talking about the human race like an outsider. Was this man an alien?

He turned back to the man, but by now, the man had turned away from him, and was still ranting, "Take the rift for example. I fixed it, now I come back to Cardiff and find that someone's been tampering with it. And now it's so volatile that all it needs it one little push and BAM! Another hole in time and space. Just what this universe doesn't need."

While he was rambling, the man didn't notice Owen getting his taser out. In fact, he was so wrapped up in what he was saying that he didn't even realise that Owen was behind him until he was being electrocuted.

However, what Owen hadn't realised was that while tasers were very effective on humans and some other creatures, they didn't have much effect on Time Lords (not that he knew what a Time Lord was, or that this strange man was one). So, after yelling in pain for a second, when the man spun around to face him with an unreadable look on his face, he didn't know what to do! So he did the only thing he could think of. He punched the man, as hard as he could. To Owen's relief, this time the man was knocked unconscious.

Then, he proceeded to grab the man under the armpits and drag him towards the hub before anyone noticed. Owen really hoped that this man was an alien, or someone with abnormal knowledge about aliens, because if he wasn't, if he was just some random drunk or something, then he was in big trouble. However, he reasoned with himself, the man had known about the rift, and about someone tampering with it. Those weren't the ramblings of a random drunk.

Once he was inside the hub, he yelled to Tosh, Gwen and Ianto, who were sitting chatting, "Oi! Come an' give me a hand you lot!"

They turned to look at what he wanted, and on seeing the man, immediately hurried towards him.

They saw that the man was maybe in his early to mid thirties and was tall and slim, with wild dark brown hair. He was wearing a brown pinstriped suit, a lighter brown trench coat and some converse trainers. He was also very unconscious, no doubt thanks to Owen.

"Oh my God Owen!" Gwen exclaimed, "What've you done? Tell me you haven't killed him in a bar fight or something and want us to clean up the mess."

"Of course not!" Owen objected, "What d'you take me for?"

"A bit of an idiot actually," Ianto remarked. Then, at the glare he received for Owen, he continued, "Well, you knocked this bloke out and dragged him into our top secret base. To me, that doesn't sound like a terribly good idea. We'll just have to ret-con him later."

At this moment, Jack strode out of his office and into the main area of the hub. Catching sight of the unconscious man on the floor, he asked in an unexpectedly light-hearted way, "What's going on here? I thought I told you people. No bringing unconscious cute guys to work with you, they're distracting," he looked around at them, "Ok, I'm serious now. What's going on? Whose is he?"

With a cheeky smile on her face, Gwen answered, "He's Owen's!"

Jack raised an eyebrow and turned to Owen, "And I always had you pegged as a ladies man!"

"Look, I ran into the guy outside alright?" Owen explained, thoroughly annoyed by now. "He knew about the rift, and the rift being opened, and the way he was talking about humans… it was like…"

"Like what?" Tosh prompted.

"Like he wasn't one," Owen finished. The others all looked at him, and then at the man.

"He doesn't look much like an alien," Gwen remarked.

Crouched down beside the man, Jack said, "Well, you can't always tell… Ok, get his coat and jacket off him and search the pockets. That might tell us something."

Between Gwen and Owen, they managed to get the trench coat off the man, and started going through the pockets. They found mass amounts of random stuff that no one in their right mind carried around with them all the time. Amongst other things (most of which they couldn't identify), they found some brightly coloured string, sweets, a yoyo, a candle, several pocket watches—all of which showed different times, some marbles, elastic bands, a pen, a banana, a pair of the 3D cardboard glasses and a leather wallet that seemed to only have a blank piece of paper in it."

"How on earth did all that fit in his pockets?" Tosh wondered.

"They're probably like Mary Poppins's bag," Owen joked, "Bigger on the inside."

Jack wasn't listening to what they were saying. He was looking at the leather wallet with the plain piece of paper in it.

Picking it up, he said quietly, "You were right Owen. Either this guy's not from earth, or he knows someone who isn't."

Then he held up the paper, "This is psychic paper. It says whatever you want it to say. And that's not something that anyone should have in this century…" Then, before the others could ask him any more questions, he asked, "What about the Jacket pockets?"

So, Owen searched through the pockets of the man's suit jacket. "Finally," he said, "Something normal to carry around." And handed the objects to Jack before going back to the pockets.

Gwen however, was watching Jack. From the two objects Owen had handed him, Jack quickly discarded the pair of glasses on the pile of stuff that was accumulating on the floor beside them, but then he held onto the key, turning it over in his hand.

"What's it a key for Jack?" she asked. "Do you know?"

"Oh I know what it's for," Jack replied, still staring at it. Then he reached into his own pocket, and drew out an identical key, "Because I've got one too."

By now, everyone was staring at Jack. "What's it a key to Jack?" Gwen asked again.

But Jack only shoved his key back into his pocket and asked Owen, "Is there anything else in there?"

"Uh, yeah," Owen answered, coming back to his senses, "There was just this." And he held up the small metal tube with the blue light on the end.

Jack recognised it instantly. The Doctor's sonic screwdriver. So why did this man have it? Was he a new companion and the Doctor had lent it to him? Somehow Jack doubted this, the more likely explanation was that this man had stolen it. So where was the Doctor and what had happened to him?

Standing up, holding the sonic screwdriver, the psychic paper, the TARDIS key and the glasses, Jack said to the others in a voice full of barely restrained anger, "Take him to the cells."

Not quite understanding what was going on, Gwen, Tosh, Owen and Ianto shared a look. Then Gwen said, "But Jack—"

However, Jack wasn't in the mood to listen, "Just do it," he ordered. All he could think about was the Doctor and Rose. Where were they? Were they ok? This man, or whatever he was, had all of the Doctor's things. How had he got them? The man definitely didn't look capable of bringing down the Doctor, especially if Rose had been there too. He looked like just a regular guy, and quite a cute one at that. But appearances could be deceiving. For all he knew, the guy could be a flesh eating alien that could sprout extra arms and teeth at a seconds notice.

To Jack's relief, the team followed his order this time; Ianto and Owen picking up the man, and Gwen holding doors open for them as they made their way to the cells. Jack followed them.

Once they'd put the man down in a vacant cell and closed the door. Jack sent the others back to the main part of the hub. Unbeknownst to him however, as soon as they got back, Tosh fixed a video and audio link so they could see and hear what was going on. So there they stood, all gathered around the screen, waiting to see what would happen.

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A/N: This was one of those annoying plot bunnies that wouldn't go away. But it's also evolved. It was going to just be a one shot, but as I was writing it, I realised that it was getting ridiculously long. So now it's a two-parter, unless it carries on evolving, and then it might stretch to three.

I just wanted to say that this is a standalone story, completely separate from my others, also it's my first story with any of the Torchwood peoples in it.

One other thing. I couldn't remember what those amnesia pill things were called so I just called them ret-con pills. I don't know if that's right or not

Anyway, hope you all liked it. The next chapter is probably about half done already so it'll either be up today or tomorrow, or later this week. Sometime soon anyway.

So please review and tell me what you thought, and if there's anything in particular you want to happen in the next chapter when the Doctor wakes up…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Doctor Who, or Torchwood.

A/N: Thanks for the enthusiastic response to the first chapter! I hope that this lives up to all your expectations!

Chapter 2

The Doctor woke up groggily, hoping that he hadn't been out for too long. This was just his luck of late. He lost Rose, found the rift in Cardiff was unstable and in danger of opening again and then got knocked out… and locked up, he realised as he saw his surroundings.

He was lying on a cold, hard floor, and someone had removed his trench coat and his jacket. That meant no sonic screwdriver. Perfect.

Just as he was sitting up, he heard a strangely familiar voice behind him. A voice with an American accent. "Who and what the hell are you?"

Instantly the Doctor scrambled to his feet and spun around. Sure enough, it was Jack. But the man standing in front of him didn't look like the Jack he remembered. Before, Jack had been young, cheerful, flirtatious, and full of life. This Jack looked colder, crueller, less forgiving and although there weren't any extra grey hairs or wrinkles, something about him made him seem older too.

But before the Doctor could verbalise anything, Jack spoke again, in a cold, angry voice, "You'd better start singing. And all your answers had better be the truth. Don't expect any mercy here, because I happen to know you've hurt one of my friends," he held up the sonic screwdriver, "You stole this from him. So I'm going to ask you once and then that's it. Who are you, and what did you do to the Doctor?"

For a second, the Doctor just stared at Jack. How could he be here? This wasn't even the Jack from before he'd met them, it was their Jack, the one who'd travelled with him and Rose… So what should he do? Jack obviously didn't recognise him, how could he? So what should he say? How could he convince Jack that he was the Doctor?

In the end he just said, "Trust me Jack, you don't want to hear me sing. I'm really not very good at it."

The ex-conman was a bit thrown by this, but quickly regained his composure, "How do you know my name?"

The Doctor walked right up to the clear barrier separating him from his friend, "Jack, it's me! I'm the Doctor! I regenerated, but I'm still me."

But in response to this, Jack just laughed, and it wasn't a pleasant laugh either. It was devoid of any humour at all, and it sent chills up the Doctor's spine. This was going to be a lot harder than he'd thought. He'd hoped that Jack would've heard of regeneration and would take less convincing than Rose. Why hadn't Jack heard of regeneration? He'd heard of the Time war, why not this?

Once he'd finished laughing, Jack said to him, "Did you really think that that was going to work? You look and sound nothing like the Doctor. On what planet would I've bought that story?"

"Apparently not on earth… maybe on Raxicoricofallapatorius?" the Doctor replied, "Ok Jack, I can prove it to you. Ask me anything. Something only the Doctor would know," then at Jack's look, he said, "humour me."

"Fine. Who am I?" Jack asked.

"As far as I know, your name is Captain Jack Harkness. You were born in the 51st century and you were a time agent. Then, for some reason they wiped two years of your memories. After that you went rogue, trying to regain your memories, and you became a con man. But then you met me, and you became a hero! I guess I rubbed off on you a bit."

"Who is the Doctor?" Jack asked, unphased.

The Doctor groaned in frustration, "My name is the Doctor, or at least it's the only name you're going to get. I'm over 900 years old and I travel around in my time ship which is called the TARDIS. I'm also the last of the Time Lords," the Doctor's expression turned stony, "My planet and all of my people were killed in the Time war against the Daleks. So now, I just travel around, because I've got no where else to go."

"When I met the Doctor, he was northern with short hair, a big nose and big ears. What's your explanation for that?" Jack countered.

"First of all, my ears were not that big," the Doctor argued, slightly indignantly. "And my explanation is: regeneration. It's sort of a way of cheating death that my people had. Instead of dying, every cell in my body replaces itself. So I look completely different, I sound different, I even act different. But I'm still me. Rose accepted that. Why can't you?"

Jack ignored this question, and instead asked one of his own, "Where did I first meet the Doctor?"

"1941. The London Blitz," the Doctor answered promptly, "And you nearly destroyed the world in your 'perfect self-cleaning con' trying to sell us a chula 'warship' that turned out to be an ambulance, and full of nanogenes."

Jack didn't let any emotion show, "And where did we last see each other?"

The Doctor was quieter answering this question, "On the game station. The Daleks were invading. They survived the Time war somehow. You—you kissed Rose, then you kissed me, and then you said, 'See you in hell'. Then later, after I'd sent Rose home, we spoke on the com system. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to carry out the delta wave, and you told me 'She's safe, that's what matters. Keep working'. Even when you were questioned by the emperor Dalek about what I was doing, you just said, 'Never doubted him, never will'. But you're doubting me now Jack."

Jack wavered, unsure of what to do. This man was very convincing, and he had a vague recollection of something about regeneration or renewal or something being in the legend about the Time Lords. But he couldn't trust him just based on that. For all he knew, this man could brain suck people, and had stolen the Doctor's memories or something.

The Doctor saw that Jack was in a moment of indecision, and said, "I can also prove it another way. I have two hearts. Do a scan and see for yourself."

So Jack hit the button that opened the cell and got out his gun. Pointing it at the Doctor, he said, "That way."

"The gun's unnecessary you know," the Doctor replied, walking in the direction Jack had indicated.

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Meanwhile, Gwen, Tosh, Owen and Ianto had been watching the exchange between the Doctor and Jack. And if everything that the man in the pinstriped suit had said was true, then they'd learned more about Jack in the last few minutes than they had in the last few months. Every piece of new information about Jack surprised them. He was from the future? He'd had some of his memory erased? He'd been a con man? He'd been a time agent? (whatever that was).

But now that they knew Jack was on his way back up here, Tosh closed down the link with the security cameras in the cells, and everyone rushed around, trying to look busy.

However, ten minutes later, once Owen had done the scan, and they had all seen the pictures on the screen, no one was bothering anymore. The pictures were unbelievable. Even after everything they'd seen, seeing a man who looked human and turned out to be an alien with two hearts was amazing. Now they were just watching Jack and the man, or alien as they now knew he was.

The man, or 'the Doctor' as he'd claimed to be had just finished rebuttoning his shirt. Then he turned to Jack and said quietly, "Believe me now Jack?"

But everyone was surprised by Jack's response. His voice was as cold as ice as he said, "Actually, yes, I do."

And then, the Doctor got punched for the second time that day, as Jack's fist met with his jaw.

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A/N: Ok, so it's turning into a three-parter… hope that's ok with everyone! The last chapter isn't really written at all, but I know more or less what's going to happen, so it shouldn't be too long.

Just so you know, the quotes I used from the Parting of the Ways were guesses. I couldn't remember them exactly and I didn't have time to watch the episode and check. Also, I don't know how long it takes to do a chest scan or x ray or whatever, but this is how long the one in Torchwood takes.

Yeah, so, hope you liked it. And I know there's quite a lot of stuff that I haven't said yet, but anything in particular that you want said, or done, please tell me!

And please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or Torchwood.

_Last time…_

_Then he turned to Jack and said quietly, "Believe me now Jack?"_

_But everyone was surprised by Jack's response. His voice was as cold as ice as he said, "Actually, yes, I do."_

_And then, the Doctor got punched for the second time that day as Jack's fist met with his jaw._

Chapter 3

The Doctor picked himself up, only to get knocked back down as Jack punched him again. And by the time he'd stood up for a second time, his lip was bleeding quite substantially.

Fortunately though, It looked as if Jack had finished using him as a punch bag. Instead, Jack yelled, "Why the hell did you leave me behind?! Did I annoy you or something? You just abandoned me on a game station in the future! One that might I add, was full of rotting corpses! You know, I had to explain to the authorities what had happened! Not that they believed me. First they tried to have me arrested, and then they tried to stick me in a frickin' nut house! And do you know how difficult it was finding someone with a time ship?! And for some reason, God only knows why, I got them to drop me off here! In the shit hole that is the 21st century! I could've gone home, but instead I came here, just because it was one of the places you were most likely to visit!"

The Doctor just stood and let Jack shout at him. He understood that this was something that Jack had had bottled up for quite some time, and that he needed to get off his chest. When he'd finished, the Doctor said seriously, "Jack, I swear to you. We thought you were dead, that's why we left you behind. I could've sworn I heard you die. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

From the expression on his face, everyone could tell that Jack was still angry, but they could also tell that he was already starting to forgive the Doctor. "I suppose that's a fair enough argument," Jack admitted, "I _was_ dead. The Daleks killed me. But then, somehow, I woke up a few minutes later, just in time to see the TARDIS disappearing."

"You did die?!" the Doctor asked incredulously, "Then how could you… oh, I see…" he trailed off as realisation struck.

"You see what?" Jack asked in a voice that was still slightly bitter.

But the Doctor was still remembering what had happened on the game station. "I bring life," he whispered.

"What?! You brought me back?!" Jack asked, fist clenching.

"No," the Doctor said, "It was Rose."

Then at Jack's disbelieving look, he continued, "I sent Rose away from the game station. I sent her home, where she'd be safe, where she could live out her life…" the Doctor shook his head, "But you know Rose, Jack. She wouldn't accept letting us die. So she came back."

"But how—" Jack began.

"Rose looked into the heart of the TARDIS," the Doctor explained, cutting over the ex-conman, "But by that time, everyone was dead… including you. I was within milliseconds of being exterminated myself. And there's no cheating extermination, once you've been hit by that, that's it. No regenerating, you're dead, end of, finito," the Doctor scratched his ear as he spoke, "But Rose came back… and she saved me. She turned all of the Daleks to dust… and she ended the Time War."

Here the Doctor paused, and looked straight into Jack's eyes as he continued, "Up until now, I thought that that was all she'd done. We both thought you were dead or there's no way we would've left you behind, Jack."

Looking into the Doctor's eyes, Jack knew that he was telling the truth. His eyes were full of pain, and guilt. Looking at his young, earnest, yet tortured face, Jack knew that the Doctor wasn't lying, and that he'd suffered thinking that Jack had died. And, for a split-second, Jack felt glad that the Doctor had suffered after everything he'd put him through.

Quickly, Jack shook off the feeling. He didn't want the Doctor in any more pain, God knows that he'd been through enough already. But it was just a relief to know that he hadn't been abandoned. He'd been cared about. The Doctor and Rose had loved him. Enough to suffer and mourn when they'd thought he was dead… and enough for Rose to bring him back from death in the first place.

"So, Rose brought me back," Jack whispered. But somehow she'd done it wrong. Jack didn't feel alive. His body was alive, sure. He breathed, his heart beat ad his pulse… pulsed. But he felt dead inside. Had it been the Doctor who'd done it, Jack would've had no qualms about yelling at him and maybe punching him a few more times until he fixed it. But if it was Rosie… there was no way he could be angry at her. Had it been the Doctor, he should've known better. But Rose wouldn't have cared about rules of time or laws of nature, apparently she just wanted him alive…

However, there were still a few things that Jack didn't understand. "So, if Rose came back and saved your life, why do you look like that now? Not that I'm complaining," he added with a flirtatious smile, "The new look's very sexy. But why did you change? I thought you said that only happened when you died?"

Everyone looked over at the Doctor, the other members of Torchwood still trying to absorb what was going on.

"Rose wouldn't let go of the power, Jack," the Time Lord explained, "And it was killing her, burning her from the inside out… So I took it from her, and I burned instead."

Following this revelation that the Doctor had died for Rose, an awkward silence descended between Jack and the Doctor, one that none of the other Torchwood team were brave enough to break.

But, as always, preferring the sound of his own voice to silence, the Doctor decided it was time to start talking again… and to change the subject. So, gazing at the area around him, he asked jovially, "So… what is this place anyway?" He wandered over to some equipment, and then to one of the computers. "What is it? Some kind of secret base? Some kind of secret base where you seem to have very advanced technology?" Then he caught sight of his severed hand in a jar, "Some king of secret base with very advanced technology where you study aliens?"

But then, the Doctor looked up… and saw the logo on the window of the room upstairs…

"Torchwood," he practically growled under his breath.

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A/N: I'm so sorry about me taking so long to update… and for this chapter being so short! But this story keeps mutating, so I really don't know how long it's going to be now, probably only one or two more chapters though.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll do my best to update sooner than this next time! Thank you everyone so much for your reviews so far, and please review this chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or Torchwood

_Last time…_

_But then, the Doctor looked up… and saw the logo on the window of the room upstairs…_

"_Torchwood," he practically growled under his breath._

Chapter 4

"So, Jack," the Doctor began in a dangerously calm voice, "You work for Torchwood now."

It wasn't so much a question, as a statement. But still, Jack felt a compulsion to confirm what he was beginning to suspect were the Doctor's fears. "Yeah, I do. What's that gotta do with anything?"

"I been to Torchwood before you know," the Doctor said, in a voice that although it sounded light-hearted, had a sinister undertone to it that none of the Torchwood team liked the sound of. "The Torchwood in London. And it seems that this institution has the funniest attitude when it comes to the rights of aliens, did you know that? Well… I say funny, but really I mean non-existent. To Torchwood, aliens merely exist for the purpose of making 'the British empire great'. I believe their motto was—'If it's alien, it's ours'." The Doctor practically spat this last part.

By now, Jack had a sickening, sinking feeling in his stomach. He'd hoped that should the Doctor ever turn up in Cardiff, that he'd approve of what he was doing at Torchwood. And that the Doctor would be impressed that Jack was still trying to help save the world, even without him. But the twisted leader of Torchwood London, Yvonne Hartman, had ruined all that… with their stupid motto, and no doubt with their treatment of the Doctor, who in their eyes was an alien and therefore the enemy. Jack had briefly spoken over the phone with staff at Torchwood London before, and had been thoroughly pissed off by their attitudes. How could he convince the Doctor that things were different here in Cardiff?

"You know about the battle of Canary Wharf, don't you?" the Doctor continued, his light-hearted manner completely gone. "If it hadn't been for BLOODY TORCHWOOD, THEN NONE OF THAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED! THE CYBERMEN WOULDN'T HAVE INVADED, THOUSANDS WOULDN'T HAVE DIED, TWO WHOLE UNIVERSES WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ENDANGERED, AND ROSE WOULD STILL BE HERE!"

As soon as he mentioned Rose, the Doctor stopped yelling. The look of rage on his face disappeared, and was replaced by pain, grief, and something that looked a lot like hopelessness.

So that was it, Jack realised. That was why the Doctor hated Torchwood so much, they'd taken Rose away from him. But how? Surely Rose couldn't be… She had to be ok!

However, seeing the Doctor's entirely defeated demeanour at that moment, Jack wasn't willingly to claim that it couldn't be true, and that there was no possibility that Rose was dead.

"Doctor?" he asked insistently, "Where's Rose?"

But the Doctor didn't answer. He glanced around at Gwen, Owen, Toshiko and Ianto, who were all listening to their conversation. Then he turned back to Jack. "Is there anywhere else we could talk about this?"

Nodding, Jack led the way to his office, the Doctor following him. Inside, Jack sat down. But the Doctor wandered around for a minute, looking at the things in the office. Jack knew that the Time Lord had noticed the beginnings of a TARDIS growing on his desk, and knew what it was,but uncharacteristically, the Doctor said nothing about it.

"Doctor. Tell me," Jack prompted, "Tell me what happened to Rose."

The Doctor spoke slowly, "We were at Torchwood London. At the battle of Canary Wharf. The Daleks and the Cybermen were taking over everywhere. It would've been the end of the world, the end of the human race, but there was one thing that I could do…"

Here, the Doctor took a deep breath, and sounding much more like himself, and speaking at his normal pace, he continued, "You see, there are millions of other worlds, Jack. Parallel worlds, all stacked up one against the other. But in between, there's the void, and anything that travels through the void gets covered in what I call, 'void stuff'. It's a kind of radiation —harmless— but it's there. And you see, the Daleks and the Cybermen had all come through the void, so they were covered with the stuff. So in order to save this world yet again, I opened the rift in reverse, and it sucked them all in."

"Ok, but what—"

"But, all the people from the other world, and me, Mickey and Rose. We'd all be through the void too. So, before I opened the rift, they all went back to the other world. That way, when I opened the rift on _this_ side, they'd all be safe on _that_ side. But Rose…"

"What, Doctor?" Jack asked, needing to know what had happened.

"Rose wouldn't leave me," the Doctor explained, "She had the opportunity to live in the other world with her Mum, her Dad and Mickey-the-idiot. But she said that she'd never leave me, and that she was staying…But in the end, it didn't matter what either of us wanted."

The Doctor looked up at Jack, "We thought that it was going to be ok. We opened the void, and we had these things that cancelled our mass, so that we could hang on and not be sucked in ourselves. The Cybermen and Daleks were all being pulled screaming back into the void. But then… the void began to close too soon. There were still thousands of Daleks and Cybermen on this side. And Rose wasn't about to let that happen. You know how she was."

With his last question to Jack, the Doctor flashed a grin at him, but it wasn't a grin of joy. A tear made it's way down the Doctor's face, "She let go, and reopened the void. But she couldn't hang on to the lever… She was sucked towards the void, and for a second… I thought that she was going to die, Jack. And there was nothing that I could've done. She would've been pulled straight into hell, but just in time, Pete took her back to their world with these teleport things they'd created… and then the void closed for the final time."

"She'd not dead?" Jack asked, hardly daring to hope that it was true.

"No," the Doctor replied, a ghost of a grin on his face, "She's alive. She's so very alive. And she's safe, and with her family. But to us, she'd dead. There's no way that we can reach her now that the breach between our worlds has been sealed. There was one last crack open for just long enough for me to say goodbye to her… but now, that's it."

"So… we're never going to see her again?" Jack asked desperately, his voice breaking, and tears welling up in his eyes.

"We can't," the Doctor replied, clearly just as broken by losing Rose, but better at not showing it, "Trying to travel through the void would cause both worlds to collapse," he explained.

"So?" Jack countered.

A small sad smile crossed the Doctor's lips, "That's exactly what she said."

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A/N: another really short chapter I'm afraid.. but I hope you all liked it anyway!

I'm afraid I couldn't remember what those things were called that the Doctor and Rose used in Doomsday (those black things handle thingies that cancel mass), so pretend that the Doctor knew and just couldn't be bothered to say it or something…

Anyway, there's going to be at least one more chapter for this story, because Jack still hasn't mentioned his immortality! I was going to put it in this chapter, but in the end, I wanted this chapter to be all about Rose. Phew! So much for this just being a one-shot!

Pretty please review and tell me what you thought, and anything that you want to happen, or be said in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood

Chapter 5

Jack was still slightly in shock. He was trying to come to terms with the fact that he was never going to see Rose again. Before, he'd always known that it _might_ not happen, but now… he _knew_ that it never would. Fortunately, Jack could find the silver lining to any cloud. At least Rose was safe and well, and with her family. And at least he'd found the Doctor again. He hadn't lost everyone. Jack tried to compose himself, or at least enough to talk to said Doctor, who was currently still wandering around his office.

"You want to watch out for these," the Time Lord remarked, looking at the several 1950's TV sets he had stacked in a cabinet in one corner.

Turning around, the Doctor caught sight of the 3-D glasses on the lamp shade, "Hey, snap! I've got a pair of those!" then, realising that he was still missing his jacket, his trench coat, and all of his things, he asked, "Yeah, and speaking of what I have… Can I have my stuff back?"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Jack answered, sounding slightly embarrassed, "We'll get the rest of it later, but here you go." He handed the Doctor his sonic screwdriver, his psychic paper and his TARDIS key.

Taking his things from Jack, and putting them in his trouser pockets, the Doctor noticed something else rather strange sitting on Jack's desk. He'd seen it earlier of course, but had decided not to let it interrupt his explanation of where Rose was. Anyone else would've taken it for some rather bizarre looking coral or something. But the Doctor knew better. It was the beginnings of a TARDIS. And a very young one at that.

"Growing yourself a time ship, Jack?" he asked, stroking it gently.

"I figured if I had one, I'd be able to find you," Jack answered. Then he gave the Doctor a weird look, "Doctor, what _are_ you doing?"

"TARDIS's are sentient beings, Jack," the Doctor explained, "They're alive. They need love to grow, just like people do."

Jack looked at the Doctor. He seemed friendly enough, and he sounded perfectly amiable, but Jack had gotten very good at reading people over the years, and he could detect a slight hard edge to the Doctor's words. He was still angry, and hurt. And Jack was fairly sure that he knew why, and what about.

"We're nothing like Torchwood London here," he stated, feeling that he had to set the record straight.

"Is that right?" the Doctor asked, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah, that's right," Jack answered, his voice hardening slightly, "Look, I don't know about what goes on in London, but here in Cardiff we don't make a habit of shooting down peaceful aliens. The only ones we deal with harshly are the ones who we know are hostile and that if we didn't stop them, then innocent people would get hurt or killed. You of all people should understand that."

Then, seeing that the Doctor was starting to believe him, Jack grinned and said, "C'mon Doc, the people in London aren't in charge down here, I am. Don't you trust me?!"

"It's not you I don't trust, Jack," the Doctor replied.

"Then who?"

"Well, it's no one _specifically_," the Time Lord explained, "But with all these little human beings having so much advanced technology in their hands, technology that they're not supposed to have yet, it's just a little worrying."

"You what I think?" Jack asked, "I think you should stop worrying. Seriously Doc, this can't be doing your blood pressure any good."

The Doctor grinned, so Jack added, "_And_ you'll make your hair fall out!"

To this, the Doctor feigned a look of horror and said, "That would never do, I just got used to having hair again. I tell you what, I'll find a babysitter for the earth and have a holiday!"

"You've earned it!" Jack joked back.

But then, a much more serious thought hit him. He had to tell the Doctor about his problem. Being immortal was useful, but ultimately it wasn't much fun, and it just wasn't the way that humans were meant to be. It would drive him crazy if he had to stay this way forever. But if he told the Doctor about his current condition, then there was no doubt that the Time Lord would be able to do something to help. However, this thought raised another doubt in the ex-Time Agent's mind. What if the Doctor didn't _want_ to help? Jack knew that one of the main causes of the Doctor's pain was losing companions. So having one who was immortal would definitely be a load off the Time Lord's mind. He'd never have to be lonely again…

Jack took a deep breath. The Doctor wouldn't be like that. He wasn't a selfish man, it just wasn't in his nature. He had to tell him.

"The thing is, Doctor," Jack began hesitantly, "When she brought me back…Rose got it a bit wrong… _I'm_ a bit wrong."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor turned his full attention to Jack.

"I mean… Rose brought me back from the dead, and now I'm stuck here. I can't die, Doctor," Jack said, staring straight at the Doctor.

"What?!" the Time Lord gaped, "You're sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Jack said insistently, "Doctor, I've been shot in the head, multiple times. I've been electrocuted by a cyberman, I stood in the shadow of Abadon, and many other things besides! I am 100 sure about this!" Then he looked up at the Doctor and said desperately, "But it's worse than that. I may be alive, but I don't… I don't _feel_ alive. I feel dead inside… Can you fix me?" he pleaded.

"I'll do what I can," the Doctor promised, "But I've got to go and get the TARDIS first. That ok?"

"Course," Jack replied, "I can wait a few more minutes."

"Back in a flash," the Doctor grinned, leaving the office. In the main area of the base, the strangely familiar young Japanese woman was waiting for him, holding his jacket and his coat.

Holding them out to him, she said, slightly nervously, "Everything else is in the pockets."

"Brilliant," the Doctor said, pulling them on, "Umm, I don't suppose you could show me the way out could you? I was kind of busy being unconscious to remember how I got in," he grinned.

"Yes, no problem."

"Thanks err… what's your name?"

"Toshiko," Tosh answered.

"Lovely to meet you Toshiko," the Doctor said warmly.

"Actually, I think we've already met," Tosh said. She'd been sure that this was the case ever since she'd heard Jack call him 'the Doctor' and describe how he used to look. She was sure that this was the man who'd been at the hospital she used to work at in London, when they'd brought in the alien, which had turn out to be an ordinary pig, modified with alien technology.

"Really?" the Doctor frowned, "Sorry, I'm getting awfully forgetful in my old age. When was this?"

"When the alien space ship crashed into Big Ben last year," Tosh answered, "And the supposed 'alien' was brought into the hospital."

"Oh right, I remember now! Well, nice seeing you again then! How've you been?" the Doctor smiled.

But by this time, Jack had joined them in the main area, "I thought you were going to get the TARDIS?"

"Sorry, ran into an old friend," the Doctor answered, gesturing at Tosh, "Going now though. Oh, and one more thing, Jack," the Doctor said, starting to follow Tosh out of the door, "I would really rather you got rid of _that_," he pointed at his severed hand in the jar.

A minute later, having shown the Doctor the way out, Tosh rejoined the rest of the team in the hub, and they all turned to Jack.

"Jack, what's going on?" Gwen asked.

Jack looked at each of his team's faces, knowing that none of them were going to back down until they got answers, and groaned. It looked like it was explanation time…

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A/N: I have now officially given up trying to predict how long this story's going to be. I'm just going to go with the flow…

Right, so… I'm going to do my very best to get the next chapter up tonight as well. But, you know… reviews make me write faster! And if you have any questions about anything – I reply to all reviews! I think you've all got the general idea – please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood, or any of their characters.

Chapter 6

Jack really wasn't in the mood to go into an in depth history of his time with the Doctor. Any minute now, the Time Lord would be back with the TARDIS, and might be able to do something about his unnatural immortality. But he knew that there was no putting this off any longer.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, facing his team directly.

For a second, they looked unsure of what to ask, but then Tosh launched in with, "Who is he?"

"No one knows for sure," Jack answered, "He calls himself 'the Doctor', and believe me, I know from experience that that's the only name you'll get out of him. He's an alien, and he's over 900 years old," he continued matter of factly. "He just travels around the time and space, righting injustices where and when he finds them. He's saved the earth dozens of times."

"How do you know him?" Gwen asked.

"I travelled with him for a while," Jack explained, "I nearly destroyed the world—"

"What?!" Gwen interrupted him.

"It was an accident!" Jack said defensively, "But, he cleared up the mess I'd made, and took me with him."

"Who's Rose?" Ianto asked quietly, sensing that this was a sore subject.

"Rose…" Jack began, "Rose was someone else who travelled with the Doctor. She… she was a 19 year old shop girl from 21st century London, but she was amazing… I've never met anyone like her before…" He'd been smiling, reminiscing in his memories of Rose, but here he glanced at his team and added, "But I wouldn't mention her again to the Doctor if I were you. It's a bit of a… a sensitive topic. He loved her… I mean, we both did, but… the Doctor and Rose, they were something else. They had something..." then he grinned, "I tell you, I've never met a stranger pair of soul mates!"

For a minute, none of the Torchwood team said anything, clearly the idea of a 19 year old human girl and a 900 year old alien being in love was a bit too much if a weird idea for even them to accept instantly.

"Anything else?" Jack prompted them. He wanted explanation time to be over before the TARDIS arrived.

There was something else that all four of the team wanted to know about. But none of them were willing to ask about it, because it would mean admitting that they'd been listening in on Jack and the Doctor while they were in the cells. So instead, Owen asked, "Why did he want you to get rid of that?" gesturing at the severed hand still sitting in it's jar.

Jack glanced at the jar and said, "Because it's his. And I imagine that he doesn't want it getting into the wrong hands."

Ok, now the team were confused. "His?!" Gwen began incredulously. "But—"

But she didn't get very far before Jack cut in, "You were listening when I was talking to him in the cells weren't you?"

The team looked at each other, and then sheepishly at the floor. No one looked at Jack, unsure of how he'd react.

But all Jack said was, "Yeah, I though you might've been. So, you heard him explain regeneration then?"

The team all nodded.

"Well, I don't really know. He hasn't explained it to me," Jack confessed, "But I'd imagine he grew it back as part of the cycle, or something."

Most of that last explanation just went - whoosh! straight over Gwen's head, but she accepted that it was just an alien thing. But now, it was Jack himself that she was curious about. "And what about you, Jack?" she asked, "Who are you? Because you don't belong here either, do you?"

"No, I don't," Jack admitted, "I'm from the 51st century. And I was a time agent… but then they wiped two years of my memories… two whole years…" the whole team could hear the bitterness in Jack's voice, "I've got no idea what I did. So, I left the agency and became a con man. That was then I found the Doctor."

"And then you died, and became immortal," Owen said, scepticism creeping into his voice.

"That's right," Jack confirmed, "And you can doubt it all you want Owen, but you saw me come back to life before your very eyes. You know it's true."

"Ok," Owen nodded, "That I can accept. But this guy… Is he for real?! I mean I know he's an alien, but… I mean… 900 years old! And… he sounds like… I don't know..."

"Yeah, he's for real," Jack said, "And he just went to get his space ship."

The others stared at him.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Ianto asked, "Umm, not to spoil your mood or anything. But how is he going to get his _space ship_ in here?"

Jack grinned, "You'll see."

Sure enough, mere seconds later, a roaring sound filled the base, and a wind picked up out of nowhere, blowing Gwen and Tosh's hair around, and the papers off the desks.

At the sound, Jack smiled. How he had missed that sound.

"What is that?!" Gwen asked, the expression on her face matching those on the other's faces.

"That… that is the sound of the universe," Jack answered.

And in the middle of Torchwood Cardiff, a blue police box materialised. Walking up to it, running his hand over the panels just to be sure it was real, Jack put a hand in his pocket and pulled out the key he had earlier.

"This is what the key's for, Gwen," he said, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Then he stepped inside, leaving the door open and a very confused team outside wondering how this blue box was big enough to be a space ship!

Standing inside the TARDIS again, for the first time in months, Jack gazed around the vast console room. It hadn't changed at all, it was just as welcoming as always, the TARDIS's familiar humming engines telling him that she'd missed him.

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A/N: Ugh, I'm really not happy with this chapter… Sorry about the length, and it being late… and it just being a crappy chapter in general!

I would've made it longer, but I have an exam tomorrow so… yeah

Anyway, I'd better got back to revising!! Stupid psychology…

OK, any questions – ask me. any comments – do tell. Just please review! They actually make my day!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood.

_Last time…_

"_This is what the key's for, Gwen," he said, unlocking the door and pushing it open. Then he stepped inside, leaving the door open and a very confused team outside wondering how this blue box was big enough to be a space ship!_

_Standing inside the TARDIS again, for the first time in months, Jack gazed around the vast console room. It hadn't changed at all, it was just as welcoming as always, the TARDIS's familiar humming engines telling him that she'd missed him._

Chapter 7

After a minute, when Jack didn't come back out of the box, the team glanced at each other, wondering what to do. Understandably, they were hesitant about following Jack into the 'ship'. But in the end, fed up with waiting, Gwen stepped through the still open door…

What she saw inside stopped her in her tracks. For a second, she stared… that was all she _could_ do. A million and one thoughts raced through her head. How could all this _fit_ in the box? How was it possible? No answers coming to mind, she turned straight back round again, and stumbled back outside.

Seeing her shocked face, Tosh asked her, "What's wrong?" And at the same time, Owen asked, "What is it? What's in there?"

"It's—it's…" Gwen couldn't think of how to verbalise what she'd just seen, "It's bigger on the inside!" was all she could say. Then she proceeded to walk up to the police box and run her hands over each of the walls. I had to be some kind of trick!

"What?! It can't be," Owen said sceptically, and leaving Gwen outside, he, Tosh and Ianto went to see for themselves.

A second later, Owen, Tosh and Gwen were all walking around the box with identical expressions on their face. They simply couldn't believe that it was possible for something to be bigger on the inside than it was on the outside! Surely it broke all the laws of physics!

Ianto however, remained inside. While he had been just as shocked as the others, and during his time at Torchwood he hadn't seen any more than the others had, he'd just come to accept that not everything in life could be explained and that there would always be things in this world that he didn't understand.

Captain Jack Harkness and the Doctor were just two of those things, and apparently, this ship was another. Somehow, from what Jack had told them of the Doctor, and just being around him, Ianto got the idea that in his presence, unexplainable things always happened, and you just got used to it.

So, looking around at his surroundings, instead of running back out into the hub to try to deny that it could exist like his colleagues, Ianto looked around. It was a huge domed room with organic, coral-like structures and beams. The floor was a grating like you'd expect to find on a ship, and in the centre of the room was a round control panel with a clear, glowing cylinder reaching up from it to the ceiling.

But it was more than just how it _looked_. This place, it was… there was just something about it… Something in the humming of the engines that made it feel like a welcoming place and gave it a friendly atmosphere.

At this point, the other three members of Torchwood returned inside, still mystified about how this ship could exist. Ianto wasn't surprised to hear Owen say. "But—but this is just _impossible_. It can't exist!"

"Oh but it can, and it does!" the Doctor called, bounding over to them. He and Jack were both grinning at the looks of confusion on the team's faces. "So, what d'you think?" the Doctor asked.

For a second, none of the team answered. They were still trying to comprehend what was going on, not liking not understanding it.

Knowing that no one else was going to answer, Ianto said, "It's beautiful."

Clearly, this was the right answer to give, because at this, the Doctor laughed delightedly, and the lights in the ship flared up a notch before dropping back to their usual glow. The Doctor looked around, and then at Ianto, "That she is," he agreed, "and she's taken a liking to you!"

"Excuse me," Gwen asked, "How can this ship exist? I mean, we saw the outside… and the inside's bigger! How is that even possible?"

"Temporal physics," the Doctor answered as if it was something everyone knew.

But before they could ask any more questions, he continued, "Anyway, moving on… Jack!" he addressed the ex-conman, "You've got a slight immortality problem I believe?"

"Jack nodded, and the Doctor said, "Right here's the plan, we find out what's wrong… and then we fix it! Sound good?"

"Simple and effective," Jack agreed, "My kinda plan."

Wanting to seem useful, Owen volunteered, "We've got a lab back in the base if you want to use that."

"That won't be necessary," the Doctor said, turning to Jack. He was more serious by now. It was a bit unnerving how quickly his mood could change.

"It won't?" Jack, asked, a little confused, and more than a little apprehensive.

The Doctor shook his head, stepped in front of Jack and placed his fingers at his temples, just like he had with Reinette all those months ago. Then he closed his eyes and said, "Anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door, and close it."

"Wait, you're reading his mind?" Owen asked incredulously, "Jack, are you insane?!"

"Most probably," Jack answered, not worried at all any more. He trusted the Doctor. He could feel him in his mind, amongst his memories. And he trusted that he'd find what was wrong, _and_ be able to fix it, just as he'd said.

Jack could feel all that the Doctor was feeling while he was inside his head, and now he knew, without a doubt, that the Doctor cared deeply about him, maybe even loved him. Jack was tempted to go into the Doctor's mind, while the Doctor was busy in his… just to find out more about the mysterious Time Lord. But in the end, he resisted. It would only stir up awkward questions, and the Doctor might even consider it a breach of trust. He'd let it go for now.

Inside Jack's mind, the Doctor was looking for the memory of his death on the game station. He had to know how it'd started, so he could end it. But annoyingly, there were no closed doors in Jack's mind. He was a complete open book. It was usually very helpful if there were doors, then he'd know where to not bother looking, because memories weren't stored in any particular order, contrary to what you might think.

The Doctor cleared his throat and said in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Jack, I'm seeing a few doors you need to close."

The Torchwood team grinned to themselves. They hadn't known Jack for very long, but from all Jack's flirting, it didn't take a lot of imagination to figure out what the Doctor was talking about.

"That's ok, Doc," Jack drawled with a flirtatious grin, "I don't mind."

"Yeah but I do!" the Doctor protested indignantly, "Those aren't things that I want to see! If I were in some American sitcom, by now I'd be screaming 'My eyes! My eyes!'"

But a second later, the grins had dropped off both their faces. The Doctor had found Jack's death. Seeing it, the Doctor felt a surge of pain. How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to look after his companions.

The Doctor shook off the feeling, there was no time for that now. He still had to find the problem, and he had an idea of where to look.

On the surface, Jack's mind was just how you'd expect it to be, full of life, brimming with emotions, memories, thoughts… But deeper down, it was a completely different story. It was dark, cold… and dead. The Doctor didn't understand at first… but then he saw it…

A spark of gold in the black. It was the tiniest wisp of the heart of the TARDIS. Rose had been surrounded by it, and now there was a spark of it in Jack… and it was sucking the warmth from around it, trying to stay alive inside him.

Evidently, when Rose had brought Jack back to life, she'd wanted him to stay alive. So that's what this spark was doing. Every time Jack died, it brought him back to life. But to do that, it had to stay alive itself… and it was using Jack to do so. And while it wouldn't kill Jack (after all, it's purpose there was to keep him alive), it was making him _feel_ dead inside.

So, the Doctor withdrew his mind from Jack's, and opened his eyes, "I know what's wrong with you," he said.

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A/N: yeah, sorry guys, another mini chapter… but more Doctor though, that's got to count for something, right?

So, my exams are over for now, and I don't think I failed, so it can't all be bad, can it?!

And, the next chapter is more or less finished as I'm writing this… and it is the last chapter – yay!

So, the quicker you all review, the sooner I post, because I'm not going to update until I get at least 10 reviews for this chapter!!! – Optimistic I know, but that's how I'm feeling right now! So please review!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood.

_Last time…_

_So, the Doctor withdrew his mind from Jack's, and opened his eyes, "I know what's wrong with you," he said._

Warning: Mild slash. Not even sure if I need the warning, so it's here just to be safe.

Chapter 8

"So, you're telling me that part of the time vortex, the heart of the TARDIS, is inside me?!" Jack asked.

"Yeah," the Doctor answered, "Somehow, when Rose brought you back to life, it stayed inside you, and every time you die, it carries on bringing you back."

"Then get it the hell out of me then!" Jack said emphatically, before pausing, "Wait, removing it won't kill me, will it?"

The Doctor shook his head, "No, but the next time you die will be the last time."

"And thank God for that!" Jack said, "Because let me tell you, dying hurts like a bitch!"

"It does," the Doctor agreed, "So you're sure this is what you want?"

Jack was about to answer 'Hell, yes!', but then he stopped and looked at the Doctor. Would it be really hurting him to do this? Jack knew that losing companions was a constant source of pain for the Doctor, and he didn't want to cause any more. "Yes. Is that ok?" he asked.

"Of course it's ok," the Doctor said with a small smile, "It's your life, your choice. Whatever you want is fine."

Jack knew that the Doctor wasn't really completely ok with him becoming mortal again. But he also knew that the Doctor wasn't completely ok with him staying immortal. So Jack said, "Let's do it! Mortalise me, Doc! What do we do?"

"Well, it's quite simple really," the Doctor said, scratching his ear, "You just have to let it go."

"Let it go! What the hell?!" Jack cried, "How am I supposed to let go of something that I don't even know I'm holding on to?!" he looked desperately at the Doctor, "Isn't there another way?"

"Well, yeah, there is _one_ other way," the Doctor said hesitantly, looking slightly embarrassed for a reason unfathomable to Jack or the Torchwood team. "I could take it away from you, the same way I did with Rose," the Doctor explained.

"Ok, then lets—hang on, didn't it _kill_ you last time?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, _last_ time," the Doctor said, "You've barely got a fraction of what Rose had inside her, inside you. I'll be fine."

"In that case, let's do this! Get it the hell out of me!" Jack said enthusiastically, not really knowing what he was agreeing to.

Without warning, the Doctor stepped forward and pressed his lips against Jack's, taking everyone, even Jack, by surprise. However, it only took Jack mere milliseconds to recover his senses, and, being more than willing to take advantage of a situation like this, he kissed the Doctor back.

The Torchwood team however, were another matter. At first, they were so surprised that their eyes bulged, and then they awkwardly looked at the floor, not really sure where to look. They'd always suspected that their boss was into men _and_ women, but _aliens_ as well? That was a new concept to them entirely.

Eventually, pulling away from Jack, the Doctor exhaled, and a wisp of glowing gold light floated from his mouth and back into the TARDIS.

For a second, no one said anything, but then Jack grinned and said, "Wow, I never knew you had it in you, Doc!" then, more seriously, he asked, "So that's it? I'm mortal now?"

At the Doctor's nod, Jack asked with a sinking heart, "So… you'll be leaving now then…"

Again, the Doctor nodded, and Jack's heart sank even further. But then, the Doctor suggested, slightly hesitantly, "You could always… come with me."

This was exactly what Jack had wanted to hear, but still he hesitated for a second. He had responsibilities on Earth, in this time. The team needed him…

But then again, he reasoned with himself, he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. He didn't belong in this time, and the team was perfectly capable of managing without him… and he could always persuade the Doctor to bring him back every now and then to check on them.

"Sounds great," Jack answered, aware of the several gasps that came from Gwen and Tosh behind him.

But it brought a huge grin to the Doctor's face, "Right then, onwards and upwards!" he said, and then said to the Torchwood people, "Sorry to be rude but you've all got a job to do, and I've got a job to do, so it was lovely to meet you all, but we've really got to go now!"

Understanding what he was asking them, Gwen and Owen left the TARDIS, Tosh said, "Nice seeing you again," and followed them. And Ianto went over to the Doctor and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, Sir," he said, "Do bring Jack back to visit us sometime," and then he left too.

Once Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Ianto had all left the TARDIS, Jack started following them out. But then he turned back to the Doctor and said, "Are you sure you're ok with this Doc? Me being mortal now and everything?"

"Of course I am," the Doctor replied, already adjusting settings on the console, then he grinned, "Besides, you'd drive me crazy if we had to spend as eternity together."

Jack grinned back, and then left the TARDIS. Outside waiting for him, was his team.

"Are you really leaving us, Jack?" Gwen asked.

"Yes."

"But why?" Tosh asked, not wanting him to leave.

"Because I don't belong here," Jack explained, "You all know that. I'll miss you all, and I'll come back to visit, but I can't stay here."

Then he kissed each one of them in turn (except Owen, who got a hug with a pat on the back), and Ianto handed him his coat.

Pulling it on without a word, he pushed the TARDIS door back open again.

"Who is he though, Jack. Who is he really?" Gwen asked, desperately trying to understand why Jack was leaving them for this man.

"The right kind of Doctor," Jack answered, with that far away look in his eyes that he always had when he said that. Then he went back into the TARDIS, closing the door behind him.

Strangely enough, that was just the answer that Gwen needed. Now she knew that the man wasn't just the Doctor. He was _the_ Doctor, the one who Jack had been waiting for for so long. The right kind of Doctor.

Then, the hub was again filled with the whooshing, roaring sound and an unnatural wind which picked up the paper from the floor and blew it around. The light on top of the ship flashed, and the blue police box faded out of sight, disappearing altogether.

The remaining members of the Torchwood team looked around at each other.

"Well, what the hell do we do now?" Owen asked.

Gwen replied, "We do what we always do. What we do best."

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Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was dashing around the console, flicking switches, pulling levers and pushing buttons. Jack watched him for a second. When he was operating his beloved ship, the Doctor looked just the same as he had as his old self.

"Right then," the Doctor said, still pushing buttons, "I've just got to seal the rift again, make it all nice and safe, and then we can go anywhere we like! The whole of time and space all laid out before us, places to go, people—or aliens—to see!"

The Doctor flicked one more switch and said, "Bingo! That should stop it's activity for now. What happened to open it again anyway?"

"It was my team," Jack explained, "They were tricked into thinking that was the only way to save the world. So they killed me, and opened the rift…" Seeing the Doctor's raised eyebrows, he realised how bad it sounded when you said it out loud. He paused for a second and then said, "Maybe we should come back and check on them quite often."

"Oh alright then," the Doctor agreed, but added in a warning voice, "but not too often." Then a grin lit up all his features, "Where to first then?"

Jack was exhausted, but he was so over the moon at being back with the Doctor that he didn't care. He grinned back at the Doctor and said, "I need a drink—or several. And preferably hyper-vodkas. How about Poseidon 12?"

"Poseidon 12 it is!" the Doctor said, flicking switches. The middle column in the TARDIS moved up and down, the engines roared, and the Doctor and Jack left Torchwood Cardiff and were whizzed off on another adventure.

THE END! (finally!)

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A/N: So I finally finished!!! So much for this being a one-shot, eh?!

Yeah, a few things I wanted to say… Umm, first of all, thank you everyone for reading this, and for all your reviews! I was astounded at the number of reviews this story was getting! Much more than for my other Dr Who ones that's for sure! So is this one better written than the others? Or is it just because you all love Jack and the torchwood peoples? Because if that's the case, my other ongoing story (Sometimes Say Never Again) is going to have them in it… (which has been written in my plan from the very beginning, this isn't a spur of the moment thing!) and yes, this is me shamelessly trying to get people to read my other story…

Anyway, one other thing, I hope no one minded the Doctor/Jack kiss. But it seemed like the logical way to fix Jack! But I hope I left it ambiguous enough so you can either think that the Doctor was only doing it to save Jack, or that he liked it as well… (I think we all know that Jack liked it! lol)

So, I'll shut up now… so I hope you all liked this story, please review and tell me, and if you have any questions, please review and ask me!


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